George Britt

George Britt’s astoundingly long performance in the Negro Leagues and on top independent teams, which extended from before his military service during World War I to almost the end of World War II and his 50th birthday, certainly gave owners and managers reasons to sing his praises. For one, the Seamheads database currently credits him with three wins in four decisions as a pitcher against teams of White major leaguers, including future Hall of Famers.1 Another illustration was his production for the 1931 Homestead Grays, a ballclub considered by several top Negro Leagues researchers to be the best ever.2 With Britt were six future Hall of Famers on the field (as of this writing)3 plus owner Cum Posey as a seventh. Five years later, Posey made a point to distinguish Britt and a less experienced player: “Much of the credit due this club of 1931 can be given to Bill Evans and George Britt,” Posey wrote. “Evans filled in at shortstop for three months and took part in all the important series. George Britt played every position on the club.” Britt also won more than 20 games as a pitcher that year.4 After concluding his astonishingly long career in top Negro Leagues, his “epilogue” was also remarkable: In 1945 and 1946, Britt had an important but overlooked role when a White semipro teammate was on a path to becoming the first of his race to play in one of those Negro Leagues.5

George Britton (almost always shortened to “Britt” in baseball contexts from mid-1917 onward) was born on July 6, 1895, in Lexington, Kentucky, to John Britton and the former Kate Waters. According to the 1910 census, George was Kate’s second and only other child. His half-sister, Richie L. Burdette, was about two years older. Richie did housework for a private family and Kate was employed in that setting as a laundress. George was employed as a pin spotter for a bowling alley.6

The family may not have been counted in the 1900 census. By 1904, Kate was listed in the city directory of Covington, Kentucky, a town just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. In the 1910 census she and her two children were living at 119 Saratoga, while that year’s city directory also had a Benjamin Waters living there. He was presumably one of Kate’s relatives.

John Britton apparently wasn’t living with his family from 1904 through 1910, at a minimum. On November 2, 1905, a Covington newspaper reported that “John Britton, colored, a wife-beater, was given a 30-day jail sentence” after 12 witnesses testified that he’d beaten his unnamed wife “unmercifully.” He was released late that month after handing over a bond of $100.7 It’s highly likely this offender was George’s father, because in the city’s 1910 census there was only one adult besides his parents with the surname Britton, a White woman in her late 60s.

Little information is available about George Britton’s schooling. He could read and write but was reported as not attending school at the time of the 1910 census (which was conducted on April 18 along his street). He was a few months shy of his 15th birthday.

A bright spot for George and his mother occurred late that year, when Richie got married. Her husband was a porter named Leroy W. Kenney. Tragically, she died little more than three years later, on March 11, 1914, three weeks shy of her 21st birthday.8

Late that same month, George Britton and a friend or acquaintance named John Hurry appeared in Covington Police Court. They were accused of disorderly conduct, including throwing stones, breaking fences, and riding on railroad gates. Each was fined $10 and court costs.9

At the end of May, the future Negro Leagues star was surely the catcher named Britton who was expected to play on a local Black team, the Covington Tigers. He was also one of the team’s catchers toward the end of July.10 Actual coverage of the team’s games in local papers was minimal.

In May of 1915, a local paper reported the arrest of “George Britton, 20, negro,” for another train-related offense. This time it was riding on a moving train without permission (or a ticket). He had to pay $5 and court costs.11

The Covington Tigers continued during the 1915 and 1916 seasons. The Cincinnati Enquirer printed a rare Tigers box score on August 2, 1915, but Britton wasn’t in it.12 He did get listed on the team’s roster during the fall of 1916, as a pitcher, and it was reported that on October 8, Steel Arm Britton struck out 19 of another local team, Mattie Strunk’s All Stars.13

On June 5, 1917, George Britton completed a military registration card, and three months later a local paper listed him as having passed a physical examination without requesting an exemption from military service.14 However, in between he was very busy with baseball, and suddenly with two famous teams, shortly after a second game for the Tigers in which he struck out 19 opponents. That occurred on July 1 and might have been the first time his surname was shortened to “Britt” in a newspaper.15

On the evening of July 18, manager C. I. Taylor signed Britt to play for the Indianapolis ABCs, who would become a founding franchise of the Negro National League in 1920. The next day, Britt was to make the short trip from Covington across to Cincinnati’s Redland Field, home of the National League’s Reds. He was to make his pro debut against the Chicago American Giants, another founding club of the NNL. “Britt will have plenty of encouragement when he faces the heavy-hitting Giants, a large delegation of his friends from the over-the-river town having planned to attend the game,” one Cincinnati daily wrote.16

On July 19, 1917, the first American Giant Britt faced was veteran Jesse Barber. Britt struck him out. The same was true of the second batter, Bingo DeMoss. Those would be Britt’s only strikeouts of the day, but he limited the opposition to four singles through the sixth inning, at the end of which his club led 2-0. Chicago then scored three runs in its half of the seventh, the first occurring when Britt walked a batter with the bases loaded but the others resulting from the inning’s second defensive miscue. The Giants won, 4-2.17

Three days later it was reported that Britt had declined “a very tempting offer” to remain with the Indianapolis club. He promptly rejoined the Covington Tigers, and in early August he logged an 18-strikeout outing for them.18 That same month he pitched again in Redland Field, but this time it was for his previous opponents, the American Giants. He pitched Chicago to a 4-3 victory over the Cuban Stars, another founding franchise of the NNL.19 This game with Chicago may have been a one-shot. At the end of 2024, these were the only two of Britt’s games in 1917 in his entry at Seamheads.com.

On February 21, 1918, his name was again on the front page of the local daily, this time in a list of newly accepted soldiers.20 A US Army passenger list dated May 8 listed Private Britton as having departed from New Jersey for service overseas in Company C, 515th Engineers (Service Battalion), in which the enlisted men were nonwhite. The next day, the Covington Tigers were reportedly trying to arrange for Britt to return from Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville to pitch a game for them, but the club’s leadership must not have known he’d just shipped out.21

Britton served during World War I’s final six months. Over the past century, it hasn’t been widely reported that at least one of the companies of the 515th Engineers was assigned to build a bridge over France’s River Marne at Château-Thierry, which they did under fierce enemy fire. That area, the first to which American forces were deployed when the United States entered the war, was fiercely contested by German troops early that summer.22

Britt presumably played no baseball in America for more than a year. On June 30, 1919, Private First Class George Britton returned on the troop transport USS Troy from Brest, France.23 Within a month, he joined yet another charter member of the NNL, the Dayton Marcos.24 Seven games in which Britt played for Dayton have been logged, playing in right field as often as he pitched.

when the NNL debuted in 1920, Britt was with the Marcos at the start of that regular season.25 As of this writing, six wins and five losses in 14 games have been documented. His earned-run average of 3.15 compares quite favorably with the 3.59 figure for all NNL pitchers. However, there is also data for Britt playing one to three games at each of five other positions: second base, third base, catcher, and both corner-outfield positions. His versatility was apparent early that summer, when one Black weekly said Britt was possibly “the greatest alround [sic] player in the game.”26 In 23 logged games, his batting average was .279, while NNL batters collectively hit at a .254 pace.27 All told, his first season on a member of one of the Negro Leagues was solid.

Though the first NNL lasted 12 seasons, Britt played in only its first two. He did play in several other Negro Leagues, including the second NNL formed in 1933. He spent most of the 1921 season with the NNL’s Columbus Buckeyes, which had previously been the Dayton Marcos. His high point of the season may have occurred at home on Memorial Day, when he hurled a pair of complete-game victories against one of the top independent teams in the East, the Bacharach Giants, by scores of 8-7 and 7-6. One weekly was impressed that he walked only two of the 73 hitters he faced that day.28 Nevertheless, his 22 games logged show a regression statistically that season, with a won-lost record of 7-10, an ERA of 5.35, and a batting average of .244.

In 1922 Britt was expected to start the season with the NNL’s Cleveland Tate Stars, and in one preview ballplayer-turned-sportswriter Dave Wyatt called him “one of the real stars of the universe.”29 It’s possible he played some preseason games with the club, but by mid-May he started his first of several seasons with top independent teams, in this instance the Harrisburg Giants.30 He played in half of their 10 games logged to date on the Seamheads website.

In 1923, the Eastern Colored League played the first of six seasons, and Britt spent time with one of its members, the Baltimore Black Sox. He lasted with them until early in the 1926 season. During his three full seasons with the Black Sox, he increased his batting average from .248 to .290 to .303.

Britt barely pitched in 1923. Instead, he was most often used at first base, where he played 14 games, followed by seven behind the plate and five at second base. The Black Sox finished last in the ECL in 1923 but had the second-best record in 1924 and third-best (among eight teams) in 1925. In those two seasons when the Black Sox were in the pennant race, Britt did contribute as a pitcher. In 1924, he had a record of 10-8 though with a high ERA of 4.80. In 1925, his record was 5-3 and he dropped his ERA to 3.01.

Britt’s 1923 season included an embarrassing episode in August, after Baltimore fans jeered him for committing an error at first base. He became furious and flung the ball into the stands, which struck the face of a fan named Druey Rescheall. In court the next morning Britt told a magistrate that his intent was only to fake a throw but the ball slipped out of his hand because the pitcher had been hurling spitters. Still, Britt received a lecture about sportsmanship and a fine of a dollar plus costs.31 Two seasons later, Britt provided local fans evidence that he actually was no slouch at first base, when his “perfect catch” of a hot liner began a triple play against the Cuban Stars on May 3.32

The pinnacle of Britt’s time with Baltimore may have occurred late in 1924. On October 12, the Black Sox hosted the American League’s Philadelphia Athletics and split a doubleheader. The Baltimore Sun estimated the crowd at Maryland Park to be over 8,000. The A’s won the first game, 4-2, and in the second frame of the seven-inning nightcap, the White pros loaded the bases, at which point Britt was sent to the mound in relief. Though he allowed those inherited runners to score, he was also able to limit a late rally and become the winning pitcher when the game ended at 8-7.33

Britt’s mother died of bronchial pneumonia back home two weeks before his win against the A’s. Her certificate of death, which identified George as the informant, listed her address as 321 Sanford Street. Covington’s city directory for 1923 listed both George and his father at 321 Sanford Alley, so it’s possible that later in Kate’s life she was living with John, or at least very close by.34 About a year later, John Britton was released on a $500 bond on a charge of liquor possession. A month later, a front-page article noted that he was fined just $1. “Britton’s poor physical condition led to this generosity on the part of the court, District Attorney Sawyer Smith said.” That dollar was reportedly the lowest such fine ever in that US District Court.35

George Britton wasn’t listed in Covington directories after 1923, and shortly thereafter, he spent at least the occasional winter in much warmer climates, so he may not have seen his parents much after he became a regular in the Negro Leagues. For example, in early 1925 he played for the Poinciana club in a Florida winter league, and the following winter he played for the Philadelphia Royal Giants in the California Winter League, where he had some pitching success against two teams that included White major leaguers.36 He played in the latter state at least once more, during the winter of 1930-1931.37

In 1926 Britt saw just a little action with the Black Sox in May before holding out over dissatisfaction with his pay. The Baltimore Afro-American expected that to be resolvable but that proved to be incorrect.38 During the second half of June, Britt jumped to the Homestead Grays, a leading independent club. At the time, the Pittsburgh Courier happened to note that his weight was 190 pounds.39

Toward the end of 1926 and 1927, the Grays played exhibitions against White American League pickup teams managed by Earle Mack, son of the Hall of Fame manager, Connie Mack. Though Britt didn’t pitch much for the Grays during his first three seasons with the club, he was the winning hurler in games against the American League players in each of those two Octobers. However, he lost an outing before the first of his pitching victories. In 1926 and 1927 Britt may not have seen as much action behind the plate, though he did play at least a little on the left side of the infield.

On October 3, 1926, 6,000 fans in Youngstown, Ohio, saw him lose in relief in the 10th inning of a game that ended 11-6.40 One week later, Britt pitched a complete game in a rematch at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. Batting third in the other lineup was future Hall of Famer Heinie Manush. Britt took a 2-0 shutout into the top of the ninth inning. Manush’s single put runners on first and third with nobody out, but after a sacrifice fly scored one of them, Britt ended the contest by inducing two popouts.41

Back in Youngstown on October 9, 1927, Britt faced a similar lineup, in which Manush again batted third but right behind him was another Hall-of-Famer, Harry Heilmann. Britt scattered seven hits and again limited the American Leaguers to a single run in a 5-1 complete game. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette noted that Britt kept Heilmann and Manush hitless.42

Just six days earlier, Britt had received some closure regarding a tragedy: the resolution to the murder of his father, which had occurred in Pittsburgh half a year earlier. Details weren’t ample in newspapers. On the morning of May 11, John Britton was found shot to death on the steps of the home of a Black woman on Hollace Street. She was detained initially. Authorities weren’t able to reach George quickly, so the next day’s Cincinnati Enquirer included an announcement that the Covington police department had been contacted in an effort to locate him. On June 10, a grand jury approved an indictment of a 25-year-old Black man named Earl Allen for manslaughter, though on October 3 he pleaded guilty to a charge of murder. The next day Allen received a life sentence for killing Britton.43

During the autumn of 1928, George Britt pitched a game for the Homestead Grays in Columbus, Ohio, against a lineup of American Leaguers in which Heilmann and fellow Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx batted fourth and third, respectively. They scored four times off Britt in the first inning, but after that he limited them to just two more in the fifth. The Grays didn’t generate much offense though, and lost, 6-2.44

A new circuit, the American Negro League, was formed for the 1929 season, and the Homestead Grays joined. On March 1 the Grays pulled off a trade with another ANL member, the Hilldale club, sending them Britt and future Hall of Famer Martin Dihigo in exchange for infielders Jake Stephens and Walter Cannady.45 During the first half of the season, Britt pitched more for Hilldale than he had in any complete season since 1925, though his results were decidedly average. Still, that may have set the stage for the Grays to reacquire him.

On June 26 six of the Homestead Grays were injured near McVeytown, Pennsylvania (about 145 miles east of Pittsburgh), when their car ran off the road and crashed. A key pitcher who became unavailable for a time was future Hall of Famer Smoky Joe Williams, though Cannady was the player hospitalized the longest.46 Three days later, the Grays traded Stephens back to Hilldale for Britt.47 Thus concluded Britt’s only departure of note during his eight-year stretch with the Grays. A decade later, Cum Posey reflected on the aftermath of the accident in his regular Pittsburgh Courier column, mentioning that Britt pitched every three days for a few weeks as the club struggled to remain in the pennant race.48 They did finish with a winning record, but ranked fourth among the ANL’s six clubs.

Britt hadn’t pitched any better for the Grays in 1929 than he had for Hilldale, but he had a very good year on the mound in 1930. To date, 16 of his games have been logged, and he completed eight of his dozen starts. His record was 9-3, and his ERA was 2.93. Britt pitched less in 1931 than in 1930 but went 5-2, completed five games, and had an even lower ERA of 2.49. In addition to all of his contributions on the field, he was a savior in the clubhouse at least once. Ted Page recalled a fight in the showers he had with teammate George Scales during which the latter used a knife and drew blood. Britt intervened twice to separate them.49

During the autumn of 1930, Britt pitched at least twice in the California Winter League for the Philadelphia Royal Giants against White clubs that included major-league talent. On October 29 he was knocked out of a start against the Lefty Grove All Stars about halfway through that 6-3 loss. Britt faced Heilmann yet again, and a third future Hall-of-Famer in that lineup was Charlie Gehringer.50 Three days later, Britt hurled a complete game and helped his club win, 3-2, against a different white club that included major leaguers, perhaps most notably Wally Berger, later a four-time All-Star.

The Grays had resumed their independent status in 1930, and continued as such in 1931, the hallmark year highlighted at the start of this biography. As mentioned, Britt played with six future Hall of Famers and won more than 20 games as a pitcher (though at present the Seamheads database is able to document five of his wins, vs. two losses).51 The Grays then entered the brand-new East-West League in 1932. As one response to the financial challenges posed during the Great Depression, by the first week of June two of the leading clubs, the Grays and the Detroit Wolves, merged their rosters. Britt was to remain with the Grays initially, though he was rumored to be negotiating with the independent Pittsburgh Crawfords.52 Instead, he played for the Detroit Wolves at least a few times starting on June 11.53 The East-West League limped into early July and then disbanded, so it didn’t manage to exist for one full season.54

A second Negro National League was launched for 1933, and the Homestead Grays joined. To date, far fewer games have been logged for Britt in 1933 than 1932, but that summer he received a significant honor: He was selected to play in the Negro Leagues’ first-ever East-West All-Star Game, at Chicago’s Comiskey Park on September 10. Britt, who was 38 years old, ended up pitching the final two innings for the East, and was roughed up almost as much as his side’s other two hurlers as they lost, 11-7. On the plus side, he singled to lead off the ninth inning and eventually scored.55

In March of 1934, several Black weeklies reported a few trades during the NNL’s winter meetings, including that Britt and the aforementioned Bill Evans were sent to a new team in the league, the Newark Dodgers. Oddly, no compensation for the duo was mentioned in any of the accounts.56 At present, 28 of Britt’s plate appearances with Newark have been documented, and he had an impressive batting average of .391.

Cum Posey sang the praises of George Britt before the 1935 season. “Britt is probably the best liked player in Colored baseball by players and owners,” Posey wrote in his newspaper column.57 The occasion was the trade of Britt by Newark to the Detroit Elite Giants (who quickly moved to Columbus, Ohio, and played some of their home games in Nashville as well) for a player named G. Miller. Britt apparently spent some of spring training with the Elite Giants, but during April he was sold or otherwise shipped off to the Brooklyn Royal Giants, an independent club.58 After 1933, the Seamheads database has entries for the Royal Giants for 1936 and 1937, and Britt was on the club both seasons. He also played for them in 1939 as well after the aforementioned trade in 1935, two seasons for which he has no entries in Seamheads.59

From 1934 onward, Britt didn’t do much pitching in the organized Negro Leagues. In fact, he didn’t play much at any position in those leagues during most of his later seasons, which is understandable for a player his age. Be that as it may, he continued to play in the Negro Leagues for a decade after 1934, mostly as a catcher. He spent additional time in the second NNL in 1938, with the Washington Black Senators, and when he rejoined the Homestead Grays in 1940, the club was again an NNL member. Britt then played in the Negro American League from 1941 to 1945.

During his final decade in the Negro Leagues, it often wasn’t obvious where Britt spent the winter (or what he did). However, he spent at least two off seasons playing ball in Caribbean lands, namely Puerto Rico during the winter of 1938-1939 and Venezuela during 1939-1940.60

After spending most of the 1930s apart from the Homestead Grays, Britt rejoined them in 1940 and played around the time they clinched the championship of the second NNL.61 Britt didn’t reach such a peak during the 1920s or the 1930s. He was 44 years old at the time.

Britt’s 48 logged plate appearances with three NAL clubs in 1942 – the Jacksonville Red Caps, the Chicago American Giants, and the Cincinnati-Cleveland Buckeyes – were his most in a decade, but he only hit .231. By 1943, and likely sooner, Britt was serving as coach in addition to playing occasionally.62

Britt’s final few years in the Negro American League were with the Cleveland Buckeyes, partway through the 1945 season. He had modest success at the plate with Cleveland in 1944, when he hit .333 in 24 times at bat. Retrosheet.org has documented a 1945 regular-season game in which Britt played for Cleveland, but it hasn’t been captured in Seamheads due to the absence of a box score. Britt caught a 5-4 win over the Birmingham Black Barons in Montgomery, Alabama, and that might have been his final game in the major Negro Leagues.63 If so, he was probably long gone before the Buckeyes won that year’s Negro World Series.64

Around the middle of the year, George Britt joined a Black ball club called the Pontiacs in Erie, Pennsylvania. He made his pitching debut for them on July 11, five days after turning 50 years old. Within a month he was also serving as catcher for a White left-hander who joined the Pontiacs, Eddie Klep.65 On September 11, Klep and Britt were on a local team that narrowly lost an exhibition game to the Cleveland Buckeyes.66

Erie businessman Ernie Wright owned the Cleveland Buckeyes, and on March 13, 1946, he signed Klep for a spring training tryout. Though police officers in Birmingham, Alabama, blocked Klep from playing there with the Buckeyes, he soon hurled for the club in Atlanta. He pitched in at least two regular-season NAL games for the Buckeyes around Memorial Day, and won the first of those, against the Chicago American Giants on May 29 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.67

After moving to Erie in the closing days of World War II, Britt led a quiet and largely uneventful life for the next 35 years. He was listed in Erie’s 1953 city directory as a porter at the Home Restaurant. He was reportedly still with the Pontiacs in 1948, and it’s conceivable he was the “Britton c” in a mid-1956 box score of theirs.68

George Britton passed away at his residence in Erie at the age of 85 on January 26, 1981. No next of kin or other loved ones were mentioned in his obituary, but noted was his service as both a catcher and pitcher for five Negro Leagues teams.69 In fact, his career statistics include more than 160 games as a pitcher and even more at other positions, making him a unique double threat among the six players whose careers on top Negro Leagues teams began before 1920 and extended into the 1940s.70 ;

Sources

Except where noted, statistics are from Britt’s entry at Seamheads.com as of January 1, 2025. Various genealogical documents mentioned, including passenger lists, are accessible via ancestry.com and/or familysearch.org, as are censuses. City directories are accessible via the former genealogical site. 

Photo credit

George Britt, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Notes

1 Through the end of 2024, Britt has been credited with wins against White major-league teams in 1924, 1926, and 1927 at https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/player.php?playerID=britt01geo (with a loss as well in 1926; click on “Show Individual Stints” for details). However, see several citations herein pointing to Retrosheet.org documentation of interracial games he played in 1925, 1928, and 1930, including against some prominent White major leaguers.

2 For example, see Charlie Fouche, “The 1931 Homestead Grays: The Greatest Baseball Team of All Time,” The National Pastime: Steel City Stories (Pittsburgh: SABR, 2018), 42-44, accessible at https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-1931-homestead-grays-the-greatest-baseball-team-of-all-time/. See also Phil Dixon, “1931 Homestead Grays – The All-time Greatest,” March 30,2020, accessible at https://www.nlbalive.com/post/1931-homestead-grays-the-all-time-greatest. See also Chris Landers, “This May Be the Best Club Ever … And It’ll Shock You: The Story of the 1931 Homestead Grays,” MLB.com, February 12, 2020, accessible at https://www.mlb.com/news/1931-homestead-grays-among-best-baseball-teams-ever.

3 Atop each team’s roster, the Seamheads Negro Leagues Data Base quantifies its Hall of Famers (if any), in this case at https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/team.php?yearID=1931&teamID=HG&LGOrd=2.

4 Cum Posey, “Cum Posey’s Pointed Paragraphs,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 7, 1936: A4. Supplementing his Seamheads entry for 1931, Britt’s total wins as a pitcher in 1931 were reported in Phil Dixon’s thorough documentation of the club’s season – see the second endnote.

5 This milestone received considerable attention decades later: Jay Feldman, “He Was Out of His League,” Sports Illustrated, June 8, 1987: 90-91, accessible at https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/06/08/he-was-out-of-his-league-from-where-jackie-robinson-came-eddie-klep-couldnt-go. Scott Moore, “Wild Pitch,” Washington Post, September 7, 1997: F1, F4-F5, accessible at https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1997/09/07/wild-pitch/47ea0c9c-c661-4c18-96d0-62fad0db2dbf/.

6 Britt’s date of birth and the location are from the military registration card he completed on June 5, 1917. By contrast, his early biography by James A. Riley, available at https://nlbemuseum.com/history/players/britt.html, stated that he was born in 1891 rather than 1895, and at Kings Mountain, North Carolina, instead of Lexington, Kentucky. His mother’s maiden name was entered on his sister’s marital record dated December 16, 1910. This document and Britt’s 1917 military card are accessible via genealogical websites.

7 “Wifebeater Soaked,” Kentucky Post (Covington), November 2, 1905: 8. “Covington Notes,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, November 30, 1905: 4.

8 The marital record and death certificate of George’s sister are accessible via genealogical websites. The cursive writing on her certificate of death is unclear in places, including her cause of death, but it might have been tuberculosis.

9 “Negro Was There With an Alibi,” Kentucky Post, March 31, 1914: 7.

10 “Amateur Notes,” Kentucky Post, May 30, 1914: 2. “Amateur Notes,” Kentucky Post, July 25, 1914: 2.

11 “In Covington Court,” Kentucky Post, May 8, 1915: 3.

12 “Kewps 2, Covington Tigers 0,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 2, 1915: 9.

13 “All-Stars Play Tigers Last Game,” Kentucky Post, October 7, 1916: 3. “Tigers to End Season,” Kentucky Post, October 11, 1916: 3.

14 “Those Who Passed,” Kentucky Post, September 1, 1917: 1. Britt was unmarried and unemployed at the time his military registration card was filled out.

15 “Bellevue Shut Out Lockland; Sunday Scores,” Kentucky Post, July 2, 1917: 2.

16 “Covington Wonder,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 19, 1917: 8. “Old Jup Pluvius Says ‘Nothing Doing’ to Colored Clubs,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, July 19, 1917: 3.

17 “A. B. C [sic] in Hard Luck,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, July 20, 1917: 7. Barber was called “Bailer” in the box score but his surname was correct in the description above it. Contrast the box score accompanying “Local Pitcher,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 20, 1917: 8, in which Bill Gatewood was identified as a relief pitcher for Indianapolis rather than a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning for second baseman Frank Warfield. As of this writing, the Seamheads entry for this game apparently believed the latter, and shows Britt as having been relieved with two outs in the seventh inning rather than pitching a complete game.

18 “Urichos to Meet Tigers,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, July 22, 1917: 8. “Bellevue Wins First; Other Sunday Scores,” Kentucky Post, August 6, 1917: 3.

19 “Even Break,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 24, 1917: 9. Britt was back with the Covington club early the next month, according to “Tigers Play Cynthiana,” Kentucky Post, September 6, 1917: 3.

20 “Accepted List of Registrants Growing Fast,” Kentucky Post, February 21, 1918: 1.

21 “Soldier May Come Back To Pitch Game,” Kentucky Post, May 9, 1918: 3. The Army passenger list from the prior day is accessible via genealogical websites.

22 “Madison County,” Lexington (Kentucky) Leader, December 11, 1918: 8. For more information about combat near Château-Thierry, see the online account by Pfc. Dustin Stark, “How 3rd Infantry Division Became the ‘Rock of the Marne.’” December 5, 2023, accessible at https://www.army.mil/article/272207/how_3rd_infantry_division_became_the_rock_of_the_marne.

23 The Army passenger list dated June 30, 1919, is available via genealogical websites. An undated Veterans Administration postcard that is likewise accessible included Britton’s July 6, 1895, date of birth but may have been created in the 1920s because it identified his address as 1322 Lanville Street in Baltimore.

24 For example, see “Complete Series,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 25, 1919: 6. Earlier that month, Britt pitched against Dayton for the Lockland Giants, according to “Dayton Team,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 18, 1919: 6.

25 “Marcos Are Set,” Chicago Defender, April 24, 1920: 9.

26 “Giants Win Second Game,” Chicago Whip, July 17, 1920: 5.

27 The 1920 NNL batting average for the players as a whole is accessible at https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/year.php?yearID=1920&lgID=NNL&tab=bat_basic, a chart that can easily be converted to pitching stats in order to see the circuit’s combined ERA.

28 “Britt Wins Double Header from N. York,” St. Louis Argus, June 3, 1921: 12.

29 Dave Wyatt, “Optimism Permeates the Baseball Camps,” St. Louis Argus, March 31, 1922: 12. See also “National League News,” Chicago Defender, March 11, 1922: 10. For a biography of Dave Wyatt, see https://arkbaseball.com/tiki-index.php?page=Dave+Wyatt.

30 “Local Giants Shut Out Hamburg Nine, 1 to 0,” Harrisburg Patriot, May 15,1922: 15.

31 “Good Morning Judge,” Baltimore Afro-American, August 31, 1923: 9.

32 “Black Sox Share Doubleheader with Cuban Giants Sunday,” Baltimore Afro-American, May 9, 1925: 6.

33 Herbert A. Wilkinson, “Black Sox Split with Athletics,” Baltimore Sun, October 13, 1924: 11. Key details about Britt’s pitching were provided in “Athletics Divide with Baltimore Sox,” Philadelphia Inquirer, October 13, 1924: 18. See also “Sox Break Even with Phillies,” Afro-American, October 17, 1924: 12.

34 An ad described 321 “Sandford” [sic] Alley as a three-room cottage, specified for “Colored” residents. See “For Sale,” Kentucky Post, May 5, 1929: 16.

35 “Covington Notes,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, September 11, 1925: 3. “Gets off with $1 Fine,” Kentucky Post, October 22, 1925: 1. “Dry Law Takes Time of Jury,” Cincinnati Commercial Tribune, October 23, 1925: 7.

36 “Britt Wins First Start in Florida,” Afro-American, February 7, 1925. William McNeil, The California Winter League (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2008), 265. As of this writing, Britt’s record in California for the 1925-1926 winter season against some White teams that included major leaguers was 3-3, as indicated at https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1925/Pbritg1031925.htm. His record overall was 6-6, according to W. Rollo Wilson, “Eastern Snapshots,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 20, 1926: 13.

37 Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Munoz, “Forgotten Heroes: Chet Brewer,” Center for Negro League Baseball Research, 2014: 40, available at https://irp.cdn-website.com/33d0c3d0/files/uploaded/Chet-Brewer.pdf.

38 “Black Sox Now Lead Eastern League Race,” Baltimore Afro-American, June 5, 1926: 13.

39 “Britt, Baltimore Sox Pitching ‘Ace,’ to Play with Grays,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 26, 1926: 15.

40 “A.L. All Stars Beat Grays, 11-6,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 4, 1926: 23.

41 Jack Sell, “Homestead Grays Slug Out 2-1 Victory over American League Stars,” Pittsburgh Post, October 12, 1926: 15. See also https://retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1926/B10110HOM1926.htm.

42 “Grays Again Beat Big League Nine,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 10, 1927: 16. The latter included a box score, but, perhaps due to a looming deadline, the game was barely mentioned in “Grays Show Greatest Infield in Colored Baseball,” Pittsburgh Courier, October 15, 1927: section 2, page 5. However, for details of the game, see https://retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1927/B10090HOM1927.htm. 

43 “Held in Death Probe,” Pittsburgh Press, May 11, 1927: 29. “Relatives Are Sought,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 12, 1927: 19. “Grand Jury Returns 17 Murder Indictments,” Pittsburgh Gazette Times, June 11, 1927: 4. “Negro Pleads Guilty,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 4, 1927: 9. “Slayer Pleads Guilty, Gets Prison for Life,” Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph, October 5, 1927: 7.

44 See https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1928/B10130HOM1928.htm. Through 2024, this game wasn’t included in the Seamheads database.

45 “Hilldale Makes Important Trade,” Harrisburg Telegraph, March 2, 1929: 14.

46 “Grays Injured in Smashup,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 26, 1929: 24. For more details, see “Grays in Auto Wreck,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 29, 1929: 1.

47 “Grays Beat Hilldale, 6-3,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, June 30, 1929: sports section, page 1.

48 Cum Posey, “Posey’s Points,” Pittsburgh Courier, July 22, 1939: 18.

49 Bob Luke, The Baltimore Elite Giants: Sport and Society in the Age of Negro League Baseball (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009), 84.

50 See https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1930/B10290PRG1930.htm. Through 2024, this game wasn’t included in the Seamheads database.

51 Britt’s total wins as a pitcher in 1931 were determined by Phil Dixon’s thorough documentation of the club’s season – see the second endnote.

52 “Drastic Shakeup on Craws and Grays,” Pittsburgh Courier, June 11, 1932: Section 2, 4.

53 “Sox Split Series With Detroit; Trim Pilots Here,” Baltimore Afro-American, June 18, 1932: 15. “Grays, Cubans Split,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 20, 1932: 20. The latter said Britt’s team was the Grays though the doubleheader was played in Detroit. In fact, Britt’s team was instead called the Detroit Wolves in “Cubans Split With Detroit and Grays,” Chicago Defender, June 25, 1929: 9.

54 “East-West League Clubs Can’t Go Through 2nd Half,” Kansas City Call, July 8, 1932: 1B.

55 For a batter by batter account of the inaugural East-West Classic, see https://retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1933/B09100ASW1933.htm.

56 For example, see Randy Dixon, “Rollo Wilson Is Baseball Commissioner,” Kansas City Call, March 16, 1934: 7.

57 Cum Posey, “Cum Posey’s Pointed Paragraphs,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 23, 1935: 14.

58 “Morton Heads [Negro] National League as Baseball Czars Oust Wilson,” Baltimore Afro-American, March 16, 1935: 21. “Jim Taylor Is Confident His Outfit Is O.K.,” Chicago Defender, April 20, 1935: 17. “Pick-Ups from the Giants,” Baltimore Afro-American, April 27, 1935: 21. The 1934 Elite Giants and 1935 Newark Dodgers each had a player named Miller, but neither had the first initial G. However, Posey implied that Britt was traded for Percy “Dimp(s)” Miller; see Cum Posey, “Morton Named New Baseball Commissioner,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 16, 1935: section 2, page 4.

59 For examples of games with the Brooklyn Royal Giants in 1935 and 1939, respectively, see “Royal Giants Lose,” Brooklyn Times Union, September 20, 1935: 13 and “Royal Giants Win 9-3 from American Giants,” Chicago Defender, July 15, 1939: 10.

60 “NNL Stars Sail to Puerto Rico,” New York Amsterdam News, November 5, 1938, 19. A passenger list for the SS Coamo indicated that Britt returned from Puerto Rico to New York on May 1, 1939. A passenger list for the SS Triton indicated that Britt returned from Maracaibo, Venezuela, to New York on January 15, 1940. For little-known insights about the 1939-40 Venezuelan winter league (particularly after Britt’s departure), see William F. McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season: Pay for Play Outside of the Negro Leagues (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2007), 163.

61 “Grays Clinch League Pennant,” Philadelphia Tribune, September 5, 1940: 11. A weak case could be made that Britt was actually on a pennant-winner back in 1932, when the Homestead Grays reportedly were awarded the first-half pennant of the East-West League. Rendering that dubious was the fact that the announcement was made by Cum Posey himself in his capacity as the league’s commissioner. See “Homestead Grays Given Pennant in East-West League,” Chicago Defender, July 16, 1932: 9. As of this writing, no league champion is recognized at https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/year.php?yearID=1932&lgID=EWL. However, the Detroit Wolves had a far better record than the Grays, particularly in the loss column.

62 “Top Negro Clubs in Sunday Exhibition,” Dayton (Ohio) Herald, April 24, 1943: 7. This article stated that he’d had a record of 7-2 as a pitcher for the Buckeyes during 1942. “George Britt Buckeye Pilot” was the headline in that day’s Dayton Daily News, page 9, but the implication that he was the manager wasn’t corroborated in the article itself. Around that time, Britt was also identified as a Buckeyes coach in a photo with manager Parnell Woods and captain Archie Ware that was reprinted often, including in 1945. For example, see “Figuring Out the Opening Lineup,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 22, 1943: 19. Likewise, see “Buckeye Brain Trust,” Baltimore Afro-American, July 21, 1945: 18. In the latter, Woods was incorrectly called the club’s manager, a role he didn’t continue in 1945.

63 See https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1945/B05070BIR1945.htm. 

64 The Buckeyes box score in the Muncie (Indiana) Star, June 21, 1945: 6, included a pinch hitter named “Breese” who might’ve been Britt if a typesetter misread loopy penmanship on a scorecard. Britt was reportedly with the club in Muncie that day, according to Mrs. Willie Hunt, “Muncie, Ind.,” Indianapolis Recorder, June 30, 1945: 15. However, she also named Billy “Horner” as being present, yet he was presumably in the military that entire month. See “Buckeyes, Memphis in League Game Here,” Dayton (Ohio) Bulletin, May 24, 1945: 2, and “Billy Horne to Join Buckeyes,” Chicago Defender, January 26, 1946: 9. The former called him a recent inductee, the latter implied he’d recently been discharged from the Navy.

65 “Pontiacs’ Rally In Ninth Nips Grapepickers, 7-6,” Erie (Pennsylvania) Daily Times, July 12, 1945: 16. “Hines Hurls 7-0 Shutout For NFO’s 15th Win; Series With Indies Renewed This Week,” Warren (Pennsylvania) Times-Mirror, August 6, 1945: 6. Britt was subsequently mentioned as a Buckeyes catcher in “Cleveland Plays Memphis at Belleville,” St. Louis Argus, August 24, 1945: 11. However, it’s possible that weekly was utilizing an outdated roster.

66 Peg Parsons, “Armour’s Homer Paces Buckeyes to 4-3 Victory Over All-Stars,” Erie Daily Times, September 12, 1945: 12.

67 “Erie Hurler Seeks Berth with Buckeyes,” Erie Daily Times, March 14, 1946: 29. “White Ball Player Barred by Birmingham,” Pittsburgh Courier, April 6, 1946: 1. Joel W. Smith, “Black Crackers Sweep Twinbill from Cleveland Bucs, 4-2; 2-1,” Atlanta Daily World, April 9, 1946: 5. For information about Klep’s NAL outings, see https://www.retrosheet.org/NegroLeagues/boxesetc/1946/Pklepe1021946.htm; these regular-season games aren’t currently reflected in the Seamheads database. For a lengthy account of Klep’s saga, see Larry L. Gerlach, “Baseball’s Other ‘Great Experiment’: Eddie Klep and the Integration of the Negro Leagues,” Journal of Sport History, Fall 1988: 453-481. On page 458, Gerlach speculated about how Ernie Wright was persuaded to sign Klep and mentioned several players with Erie connections who might’ve been intermediaries, but didn’t include Britt.

68 “‘Pontiacs Pack Plenty of Plate Power’ – Harris,” Erie Daily Times, May 7, 1848: 30. “GEAA Tops Pontiacs by 5-4 Edge,” Erie Daily Times, June 23, 1956: 11.

69 “Obituaries,” Erie Daily Times, January 29, 1981: 8-A. The five Negro Leagues teams named in the obituary were the Indianapolis ABCs, the Baltimore Black Sox, the Homestead Grays, the Chicago American Giants, and the Cleveland Buckeyes.

70 See https://www.seamheads.com/NegroLgs/history.php?tab=bat_basic_at, choosing 500 results, and the corresponding list of 500 pitchers.